Order Kiosks in Food Service

This rick sees pluses and minuses, only some of which apply to you damn dirty apes.

Big minus is that my lion claws sometimes damage the touchscreen. The plus is that they do allow customization.

Also, I had to ask one of the counter help at Taco Bell why there wasn’t an option for ground wildebeest tacos. So order kiosks can’t do everything. ROAR!!!

I don't mind them, I don't eat fast food (other than my beloved Dunkin) enough to have an opinion.

I don't think this stops the tip hustle when fully automated kiosks at airports ask for tips. I only tip for sit down food. I get a guilt hustle anywhere (even from a troll) I don't tip period.

If you want them everywhere, just vote for a $20+ minimum wage (i.e. the robot full employment act).

I don't mind it as long as the control screen is user friendly. But I don't have a strong opinion.

Franchise restaurants and fast food in particular will sprint towards this regardless of the minimum wage rate, because automation and AI will be cheaper in the long run than in-store human employees (even at a lower minimum wage).

For fast food I mostly use the apps for the sweet deals that leave me more money for strippers

i can see it now expanding to strip club lap dances.

I recently went to a Japanese restaurant that had just opened and specializes in dumplings. Gyoza in Japanese. You are greeted and seated and then you order your food using your cell phone. you get your plates, cups etc from a table. A robot brings your food to you. The food was good but I didn't like the lack of service. At least we didn't have to tip.

I’m not a big fan of the kiosks, especially the ones that ask for a tip after you’ve finished your order, but I don’t care all that much because I so rarely ever eat in a fast food restaurant, plus if these kiosks become too available where will all of those special young people, you know the participation trophy generation, the find a job , very few of them have the skills needed to work anywhere else.

They've gone to mandatory kiosks at the medical clinic I go to, instead of human receptionists. It's almost comical. Since 80% of their patients must be senior citizens, how do you see this working out? And lots of nonessential questions to slow the process down even further.

As far as kiosks at fast food restaurants - that was probably the final reason I quit eating at them. Along with the high prices. The trouble with the old restaurant model, however, is you can't find old ladies willing to make over easy eggs for $2 an hour any more. So now everybody eats "breakfast wraps".

^ I prefer kiosks (or better yet, iPads or forms in advance) at medical clinics. Kiosks don't lose records or make me fill out the same form a dozen times. Doctor's office receptionists are some of the laziest people on the face of God's Green Earth.

I hate kiosks at restaurants. Speaking to an actual person is a much better experience (most of the time). But there's no turning back now with the idiots who think that you can legislate the laws of economics. Pay someone $20 an hour to take my order? Or invest in a kiosk? It's a no brainer from a business perspective.

Why can't they just put in replicators like on Star Trek?

Taco Bell? I hope you didn’t catch your cat on fire when you tooted flames after eating a chalupa!!!!

smart kiosks and this new wave of technology can definitely tell you when something is out of stock or not available as it should be directly tied to the inventory system.

The issue with the self service kiosks is the are so often out of service. It is hard to get touch screen technology on that large of service and they should make it more like a 8-10' ipad.

I’ve gotten used to it. Although self checkout is a pain in the ass when I buy something with a lot of weight. I buy a bunch of Schweppes original seltzer when they go on sale. Like 15 cases. It’s a whole big pain in the ass, the machine has a weight limit.

Back in the old days, Horn and Hardart operated food service automats. The automat provided customers with a preview of all possible dining options, but unlike a vending machine, the food was freshly made and visible. The customer self-served; put money in the machine, opened a small glass window and removed the selection. No counter service and no waitress to tip. Better than today's kiosks.

@WiseToo: "Horn and Hardart operated food service automats." WOW! About a year ago I saw a documentary called "The Automat". Every thing was a nickel. Food was fresh. Quality was very high.

The doc interviewed Mel Brooks and a bunch of others. It's on Amazon Prime Video. I believe the original concept of H&H started in Germany, and these guys met up via a classified ad one ran looking for a partner. These places were beautiful.

Then, McDonalds and Burger King took over.

The Shake Shack kiosk should have a built-in defibrillator in case you get a heart attack when you see the total for your meal. They are damn good though.

I am a big fan of the kiosks, self-service, and self-checkout as a punishment (yes, punitive) and lesson taught to these idiots who think a zero-skill entry-level after-school job should earn $15-$20/hour. The only downside is that the smaller entrepreneurs or mom'n'pop shops will not be able to afford that tech as easily as the large corporations.

I have a friend in Chicago, a hard-core lib and unapologetic, useful idiot, straight-ticket democrat voter who refuses to use any self-service functions because he does not want to be responsible for taking anyone's job away from them. I feel they have voluntary surrendered their jobs, or at least their job security, by being greedy and unreasonable.

@misterorange - I feel like I am missing out because I have never eaten at Shake Shack, whataburger, or in n out. At the same time, everyone raved about Five Guys when it first opened locally, but to me it was the saltiest, greasiest, nastiest fast food yet.

I like that kiosks make it easy to customize your order.

^^
Gamma Ape’s rant made this rick realize something: the absence of interaction at the ordering phase makes it less likely that a young food service worker will realize that a customer is kind of a douche.

This raises a question: how will they know who’s food to spit on?

This rick has a solution: the doucheID AI system. A new AI associated with the kiosk that identifies douches and tells the folks preparing the meal when they need to add some boogers and cum for extra flavor.

You don’t want to know what the AI tells workers to do when Skifredo places an order. Let’s just say it works best with chocolate shakes. ROAR!!!

I appreciate the memories of the automat. Real food fast. Not fast food, fast. I don't use the kiosk because I don't eat garbage.

I don't eat much fast food anymore and almost never sit down. During those rare times when I get it for my kids, I usually use the drive thru and those are still 100% human being.

But from time to time I will come across a place with a kiosk setup, like an airport eatery. I have mixed feelings about them. Yes customization is much easier, which I appreciate. But sometimes they can be slow and cumbersome to use, with a bunch of freaking questions just to get the order complete. They also don't accept cash, which I sometimes like to use if I have a wad left over from my last SC outing.

Gamma that chicago friend sounds like an absolute buffoon, lol.


I think the Taco Bell kiosk, and probably other kiosks, are similar to the interface you get when ordering on the online website or mobile app. It’s easier to make substitutions and customizations.

An annoying thing about taco bell and mcdonalds is different locations can have drastically different prices even if they’re only a few miles apart. I remember a mcdonalds charging $2 for a pie that was only $1 at a location 2 miles away. You can add additional beef patties to a big mac- some locations only charge 60 cents each while some want $1.30 each or more.

@Puddy what do you get from dunkin

^ Large iced black coffee. Sometimes with a bagel if I'm feeling fancy.

I actually got a Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich on the way back from the clubs last night. My first fast food in a year.

I don’t know if they could ever put a self serve checkout in a liquor store but last night I was wishing they did. I was meeting friends at a bar but I stopped to grab a cold six pack in case I decided to hit a BYOB strip club late night. I walked in, went to the fridges, grabbed the 6 pack and headed to the counter to pay with a credit card. I tapped the card and the woman at the register asks me if I want to add a tip?! For what? The only effort she put in was sliding the card reader across the counter. No showing me to the correct aisle, no asking if I needed help. Nothing. I also think she’s an owner of the store, also usually a no no for tips. I like interacting with people but I would have preferred the personality of a touch screen. Bring on Skynet and the Terminator. Humans suck.

@hank - WTF. Tip at a fucking register? Almost as bad as tipping at a fully automatic checkout.

I've heard the rule of if you're behind a counter, no tip.

The card readers around here all ask for tips at the store counters it’s ridiculous
Even the convenience store around here ask

^The most ridiculous tip request I have ever received was when I upgraded my water heater. Payment was made to the installer using the square app and his iPad. After checking here and initialing there, a tip screen appeared with options for 25% / 30% / 35%, I had to select "other" to skip. I am in favor of abolishing tipping altogether because it has gotten so out of hand. I will continue to tip waitstaff for as long as it is taxed, because they get taxed whether I tip them or not (plumbers don't get taxed for tips); but I would like to see them get paid a full, reasonable wage commensurate with skills and experience.

It's an American thing but I tip when I make business trips abroad. Just 10%. Not my money.

I think starbucks and panera, for many years have asked for tips at the register. The worker usually wont ask for one but they have the tip jars and the option on the checkout screen.
There was a small family owned restaurant where the old man owner was also serving all the tables- probably too cheap to hire servers. I didn’t tip anything for that greediness

Apps and kiosks - depends on the software.

Most food apps are pretty good, I find it a pain in the ass to carry all these apps on my phone and remember a password for an app I may use twice a year.

I find most kiosks a pain in the ass, it’s always some huge ordeal if you want to remove one topping on a sandwich or something that would be simple fix if you were talking to a person.

Generally for me if I’m going through a drive thru I use an app, if I’m going inside I go to the staff and order over a kiosk if that’s an option.

I was initially resistant to apps and kiosks when they first appeared, but not any more. I really like being in control of the order and having a detailed order review before paying. Mobile / apps orders are a dream after the initial learning curve. My rewards number, order preferences, and CC all stored... and I can order ahead before walking / driving to the pick up.